Thing 13: Coding

Coding has fascinated me for several years.  So much so that I do the hour of code with my K-5 students for the whole month of December last year and two weeks this year.  I created accounts for all the students and off then went and coded and created games and shared in the fun.  As I watched my fifth grade students this year, I realized that I am going to have to do something more!  Something more challenging for them next year or possibly at the end of this year.  Kids code now!  At school, at home, at the library... they have apps and websites and robots to code.  And man is it fun!  I even am working on a special project using iPads and the scratchjr app with my third graders to create stories of their creation.  But I only have iPads when one class comes down.  Lots of great stuff happening.

But I am still thinking ahead to the future.  What can I bring to the table to advance them.  So I began investigating computer programming through the Khan Academy.  https://www.khanacademy.org/ There is java script and html code lessons that I think they would eat up knowing they could create things for themselves.  They were asking to use java in December, so maybe in May and June when book exchange stops and we need things to keep us on task.  I ran through several lessons of the Pixar in a Box and I think the kids would really love this.  I may inspire them to a future in animations and commuter technology.  Which is what the computer science field is lacking... interested and experienced people.  Maybe my students... especially since they have all seen at least one or more of these films and can realize how many different people are needed to create one film from concept to the theater.

This week I also started investigating code.org's middle-school curriculum.  Since my students are already comfortable with the current courses offered at the elementary level, I might want to introduce at least my fifth graders to the harder content and let them run wit it.  I am going to need more time myself to run through the lessons that are their, but I love that the new pieces they are releasing have some project based learning aspects and springboards to the coding and problem solving.  Fantastic in what our school is currently trying to be successful launching.

Putting this site in my back pocket too: https://codehs.com/info/curriculum.

Or maybe after spending a while with https://www.codesters.com/coding-curriculum/ working in Python, my fifth graders my love creating a digital postcard.  https://www.codesters.com/curriculum/intro-to-codesters/Building+your+First+Program/18/.
Here are a few examples of the digital projects:

I think having a finished project once they learn the language might be a great choice!

Thing 11: DIY -- digital storytelling

I have been looking through too many topics at once and need to refocus.  I started with Animated story telling moved quickly into coding and now I think I am back to Animated Storytelling.  I have been trying to find a good, quick and easy way to incorporate this into my current projects.  I do a lot of computer projects, but want to expand with 2.0 digital tools with my students.

So after getting more distracted with http://sdst.libguides.com/newtools I learned about web 3.0 which was fascinating.  I try to tell my 5th graders about this.  It reminds how I felt when the WWW first started and how you clicked on one thing and ended up 7 miles from what you were originally searching.  I do hop there may be a solution for not only the amount of data on the web, but how it could be better organized.  As frustrating as searching was then, we have added billions and billions of pages and can get overwhelmed when the answer you are looking for doesn't appear first....

From here, I started looking at the http://www.slideshare.net/ctjonline/integrating-technology-into-the-classroom-for-young-learners.  What drew me in was young learner's in the title.  There is great material and ideas for older students, but I want to bring easy and quick ideas down to my K-5 students more often.  Then I ran into this project:
https://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/education/a-tour-around-the-u-s-a-4269258
What a great idea.  Slapping forehead!  Why didn't I think of this too!  I just completed with my third grade class a trip around the USA where I had them make posters to display and present their states after having created "I wonder questions" and using the power of persuasion to convince people to travel to their chosen state.  How nice would it have been to do this project, have them research, make a poster (or even use WORD to add pictures and gain typing experience), then load things into mixbook or the like and have a digital presentation on the smartboard and to share with their families at home!  This is so going in my to do file!

Still in the young learners site they shared: http://zunal.com/index.php to create webquests.  I made webquests about 15 years ago when I first started the library program.  I taught myself HTML coding to create the page as nothing link this existed then.  I love the ease of making a webquest with this site.  I should pullout the ones I did then and put them into this site for continued use.  Sadly I believe the geocities site was taken down several years ago and it would be nice to have access to my work once again.  Not to mention the many completed ones at this site to use and explore.  Just look at all the ones for the K-2 level on technology skills!! http://zunal.com/xbrowse.php?Curriculum=111&GradeLevel=101&Page=1  Digital citizenship and keyboarding!  Perfect!

Now to sit down with my planbook and work these new ideas in... maybe even as my observation lessons.

We begin again...

I love this course, but I seem to have trouble sitting down and completing one topic at a time.  With all the choices I started in digital storytelling, but then got distracted by coding...  I have so many ideas, I need to stay focused and concentrate.  I have report cards to work on and get done this weekend, then I will devote more time to my cool tools topics...